Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“You don’t have the best track record, Dorian. I think we’re going on three times now that we’ve almost had to call the fire department when you cooked. There was that time you tried to cook for Primrose at the mansion, then breakfast at the apartment in Turkey, and dinner at the rental house in Santorini.”
“Three seems pretty low in the overall big picture of life.”
We continued our way through the aisles for a while. Then I stopped short when I noticed a flash of familiar, long brown hair with golden streaks.
Primrose had been looking at the ingredients on the back of a box. My chest constricted at the sight of her angelic little daughter sitting in the cart. I’d never seen her face before. With her big, wonder-filled eyes, she looked just like her mom.
I’d wanted to turn around and head in the other direction, but Primrose noticed us before I could. She let out an audible gasp.
I couldn’t avoid her now.
My throat felt ready to close. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She looked over her shoulder.
“Uh, we were just—”
Before I could get another word in, a man appeared by her side.
“Did you say we needed almond milk?” he asked her, glancing in my direction.
This was my first up-close look at Primrose’s man. Casey. He was tall with sandy-colored hair and definitely gave me a run for my money in the looks department. I wished he were a lot less handsome. Then again, why would I have expected someone as gorgeous as Primrose to be with an unattractive guy?
“Uh…no. We don’t need it,” she stammered. “We have a full half-gallon at home that I picked up recently.”
When he turned to look at me again, I made a split-second decision.
“I’m sorry, you said they don’t sell wine here?”
Her mouth opened and closed before she said, “No. I don’t believe they do.”
“Thank you.”
Benjamin nodded at them and followed me down the aisle.
That was close, but I was pretty sure Casey didn’t suspect anything. I couldn’t help but look back. Casey wasn’t looking at me, and neither was Primrose. But Primrose’s sweet little girl had turned around to watch us walk away. She waved at me. I waved back. “Bye,” I mouthed with a smile. She smiled back.
Then I felt Benjamin’s hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?” he asked.
Letting out a long breath, I nodded. We’d somehow ended up in the meat aisle. No way I could think straight enough to plan a dinner now. “Takeout is sounding better by the minute,” I told him.
“Good decision.”
As we left the supermarket, a hopeless feeling developed in my heart after my glimpse into the routine of Primrose’s current life—a life I had no real part in anymore.
Benjamin and I had a late dinner of Chinese takeout, and after he retreated to his room, I sat alone in the living room, staring into the fire.
That beautiful little girl had smiled and waved at me with trusting eyes. Rosie. What a pretty name and perfect for her. Little Primrose. Rosie’s innocent acknowledgement made me feel warm inside—and like a piece of shit for deceiving her, too. She’d assumed I was just a friendly stranger, not some man who’d come to town to seize her mother.
Not to mention, I’d forced Primrose into lying. If I hadn’t freaked out and had just kept my mouth shut, maybe she would’ve introduced me properly to him. Although, I couldn’t imagine what she would’ve said. I hadn’t given her the chance to react, though. My instinct was to protect her. It would always be to protect her, even if I lost out in the end.
My phone buzzed, and I was surprised to see a text from her.
Primrose: Are you okay?
I immediately typed back.
Dorian: I’m okay. But I should be asking you that.
Primrose: I’m sorry about today. I can imagine it was a shock running into us.
I closed my eyes, speechless that she was concerned for me.
Dorian: I spoke before you had a chance to. I’m sorry. I should’ve let you make the call on how to handle it. I just didn’t want to get you in trouble.
Primrose: You did the right thing. I wouldn’t have known how to explain you. And I didn’t want to have to lie to Casey. You sort of took that option from me, which was helpful.
Dorian: I’m glad you feel that way, because I’ve been sitting here doubting myself. Did he suspect something?
Primrose: Not at all.
Dorian: Your daughter’s adorable. What a little sweetheart. She looks just like you.
Primrose: Yeah. Everyone says that.
Dorian: You saved Benjamin from having to eat one of my charred dinners.
Primrose: How’s that?
Dorian: It was my turn to cook. But after we ran into you, I figured it was best if we got out of there before we could cause more trouble. So we got takeout instead. He thanks you for sparing him.